07/29/98 - Sebring Mediterranean Fruit Fly Update - DACS

Provided by Dr. Marion Fuller
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

Report Dated 07/29/98

Sebring

Fly count: No new flies were picked up yesterday. The total count is stable at 118 since the initial detection on July 9th. The treatment areas remain unchanged. The regulated (quarantine) area has been expanded to 144 square miles, to include the area surrounding the "southern" fly find.

Traps: 4,100 traps have been deployed covering 207 square miles: 3313 Jackson, 210 McPhail, and 577 yellow panels.

Note: Several of you asked about the "CueLure" traps mentioned previously. These traps contain a different bait, which attracts other fruitflies. The baits (lures) are not so specific as to attract only one type of fly, similarly, one bait won't attract them all. And while we are focused on the Mediterranean Fruit Fly here, USDA and FDACS must continue to monitor for other fruit flies as well. So, although these traps are not considered a part of the Medfly program, they are a part of the overall fruit fly surveillance program.

Treatment: Ground crews continue to treat buffered areas in the northern core. The third aerial bait treatment for the northern block, and the second treatment of the southern block are scheduled for Saturday, August 1st. As before, treatment will begin at day break, weather permitting, and should conclude between noon and 1:00 pm.

Environmental Monitoring: Results from second treatment pending. Results from first treatment previously reported.

Health monitoring: Highlands County Health Department received 4 calls Saturday, not 3 as previously reported. Department of Health (DOH) has received a total of 5 health related calls since the aerial bait treatment began.

FDACS - Division of Plant Industy: Mediterranean fruit fly information
USDA APHIS: Mediterranean fruit fly information
UF/IFAS Fact Sheet ENY-809: The Mediterranean Fruit Fly
UF/IFAS Fact Sheet ENY-626: Mediterranean Fruit Fly: What Floridians Need To Know


The UF/IFAS Pest Alert WWW site is at: http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/pestalert/